Aviator, Backpacker, Beekeeper, Latino Anticommunist 🇺🇸/🇻🇪 | Semper Fi 🦅 | AK resident / FL raised
Orlando, FL
Joined March 2017
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Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Here's a scan-by-scan breakdown of the thunderstorm cell that N722BD flew into. We've contoured the 30 dBZ surface, which signifies where moderate precipitation was present.
The thunderstorm cell grew to 48,300 feet by 12:56 p.m., meaning that, at 12:48 p.m. when the plane flew through, it was still rapidly growing vertically. 15,000 feet of growth in under 20 minutes is a VERY intense updraft.
Now what about icing? It's true that the ambient temperature OUTSIDE the storm was around minus-45 degrees Fahrenheit. That's generally too cold for icing, which requires supercooled water droplets – i.e. water droplets that remain a liquid at temperatures below freezing. Water sometimes is slow to freeze UNLESS it has something to freeze onto – like a cold surface (a plane). At minus-45, moisture would have already frozen into ice crystals, i.e. snowflakes, which aren't really dangerous to aviation.
HOWEVER, the rapid growth of this thunderstorm cell 1.) carried LOTS of heat upwards, bending temperature surfaces and probably making the core of the thunderstorm cell 15 to 20+ degrees warmer. That warmth was probably amplified by the latent heat release of water droplets freezing, as my colleague Roger Edwards adroitly pointed out, and 2.) the swift updraft probably transported large, tropical raindrops upwards so quickly that some liquid remained even at altitude.
A study in the journal "Nature" found that deep convective (thunderstorm) clouds regularly have supercooled water droplets down to minis-38 degrees, and it's probable that, at 35,000 feet, the temperatures inside this cloud were warmer.
Therefore, while this wouldn't ordinarily be an "obvious" icing case, the forensic meteorology suggests icing as a probable contributing factor or cause. The NTSB will continue to investigate.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Writing this in my personal capacity, but I have been flying these types of aircraft for more than 20 years, with over 8,000 hours, and have reasonable familiarity with how the charter world operates. I feel compelled to post after seeing commentary about the Lear 60 crash, from missile strikes to DEI to critiquing this poor woman’s final radio calls.
That last part is what I find most troubling. She was the second-in-command (SIC), and while she was empowered to point out mistakes as part of good crew resource management, she was doing her job, communicating with ATC right to the end in a terrifying situation. She likely knew before many of those calls that she was going to die. I have heard final calls from friends, from military pilots with thousands of hours in fighter aircraft, and they are just as heartbreaking because they know the end is approaching.
I understand the public interest given the footage and audio. But you do not know the aircraft’s maintenance history, whether there was a structural failure, if any failure was induced by turbulence, overspeed, or overcontrol, or everything happening in that cockpit. I am sure weather will be part of the investigation, but beyond that, it is speculation. The charter industry routinely hires commercial pilots very early in their careers to gain experience alongside an ATP-qualified captain before they move up to the airlines. She would still have the appropriate training, qualifications, and checkouts by an FAA examiner or designee.
Let people investigate, learn, and share the facts. Be respectful to those who perished and the families who carry their memories. God bless them and their loved ones.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Today's plane crash in Palm Beach County, Florida is a horrific tragedy
Here's what we know:
- At 12:50 PM ET, a Learjet 60 crashed in a neighborhood near Cresthaven, FL
- All 9 people on board were killed
- The aircraft departed from Austin, Texas, and was headed to the Bahamas
- The FAA is sending a team to the scene to support the @NTSB's investigation
Please join me in praying for the families and loved ones of those we lost — @FAANews & @USDOT are closely monitoring this crash and will share updates as we learn more
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Photo of the Day! Unfortunately, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Opposing Solo has been out all weekend. As a result, we’ve had just the Lead Solo # 5 LCDR Connor “Buddy” O'Donnell doing the solo maneuvers.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
畑が２倍の広さになったので
春までに色々準備して、もっと色々作るぞー🫑🥕🌽🥬🍅🍆🫛
昨日買った鴨ちゃん🦆
可愛い😆
優ちゃんは兄ちゃんと寝た😴
Prayers for everyone aboard
The ATC sounds like icing, followed by a request to climb out of moderate turbulence + precip (possibly freezing rain?). Icing is no joke
Read the transcript, skip the audio. I wouldn’t blame the Center controller for taking a few mental health days
#BREAKING Additional Dashcam video shows reportedly a Learjet 60 (N722BD) crashing in Palm Springs, Florida.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
This is better than the Cheltenham roar… 🤯
Actual shivers ahead of the Tenno Sho in Japan.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Do we see this in US? Nope. Japan has invested in the entire ecosystem, not just the breeding business.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Papa Washington grew apples and produced cider on his farm - FOR A FACT.
Cider deniers most affected by the truth.
What aren’t you taxed for in the EU at this point? lol
The rest of the world invents/creates and the EU just seems to exist as a tax mechanism to stifle creativity
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Now that’s an image that goes HARD.
During WWII, Strategic Bombing finally came into its own, but there were two approaches.
The British bombed at night. They felt the bomber losses incurred during the daylight hours was too high. While there were specialized night fighter aircraft & squadrons to counter night bombing, it wasn’t nearly as big as the regular fighter forces.
The Americans proceeded with daylight strategic bombing. They understood the risk was higher, but felt that daylight improved accuracy, which would end the war faster.
Of course, there were exceptions for both the British & Americans, but that’s generally how we remember the campaigns.
As it turns out, neither side was totally accurate. The British managed to hit their targets pretty well, and while the Americans assumed the risk was higher during the daylight hours, about 23% of all bomber crew were killed in action…while the Brits lost about 44%. The Americans had a higher chance of being captured, though. So…the initial assumptions weren’t quite right.
Both sides flew their bombers in massive formations to concentrate the defensive firepower of their gunners. Typically, bombers had tail gunners, waist gunners (each side), a forward gun that could be fired by the bombardier, as well as a top turret. Many had a bottom turret as well.
Guns on bombers would continue after WWII, but were often controlled remotely, as was the case with the B-29 & B-36. The last flying American bomber to carry defensive guns was the B-52, which originally was delivered with tail guns. The last air to air kill of a B-52 tail gunner occurred during Vietnam in 1972.
Tail guns were removed from B-52s in 1992, marking the end of an era. There are still some Russian bombers that have them, though I don’t know what the status is. As far as American bombers go, though, there are no longer any guns.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
ポケモン「Fender」コラボモデル発売へ
30周年迎えた初代《赤・緑》デザイン
⠀
6体の手持ちがそれぞれ弦の下に…
蛍光色に光って見えるピックガード
oricon.co.jp/news/2489909/fu…
⠀
驚きのサウンド回路が搭載
ギターサウンド＋8-bitサウンド出力可能
He’s one of us now
For fifty eight years, my boss in Tokyo believed that beef should be sliced as thin as paper.
In Japan, we cook thin meat for four seconds in boiling broth. That is our way.
Then last month, the YouTube algorithm showed Director Sato a video of a man in Texas smoking a brisket.
It changed his life.
On Monday morning, he called me to his desk. His eyes were bloodshot.
"Have you seen this?" he whispered, turning his monitor toward me. "The American pitmaster does not sleep for sixteen hours. He sits by the fire in the dark. He guards the meat like a castle."
I said, "Sir, it is just a barbecue."
He slammed his hand on the desk.
"This is not cooking," he said. "This is a vigil."
Last Saturday was our annual company picnic by the river in Kanagawa. Normally, we grill thin meat and yakisoba for two hours and go home at 2:00 PM.
I arrived at 9:30 AM to help set up.
Director Sato was already there.
I want to be accurate here: he had been sitting in a folding chair since 10:00 PM on Friday night. He was wearing a towel around his head and staring at a massive black barrel smoker he had imported from Oklahoma.
Inside I said: THIS MAN HAS ABANDONED CORPORATE LIFE FOR THE SMOKE.
When we tried to help him, he held up a pair of metal tongs and clicked them twice.
"Step back," he said calmly. "The stall has begun. Nobody opens the lid."
Twelve Japanese accountants stood in complete silence around a barrel for four more hours. Nobody dared to eat a single noodle until he gave the signal.
At 1:45 PM, he sliced the meat. It fell apart on the cutting board.
My boss looked at the pink smoke ring, nodded once, and wiped a single tear from his cheek.
He has already submitted an official budget request for a trailer smoker for next fiscal year.
Bro these are so peak
If only there was a bass though 🥲
楽器メーカーFender®とコラボした『ポケットモンスター 赤・緑』デザインのギターが、ポケモンセンターオンラインに登場！
11月19日（木）、12時から抽選販売の応募が開始されるよ。
音色に8-bitサウンドが加わるギミックも搭載！
ぜひ動画で聴いてみてね。
pokemon.co.jp/goods/2026/10/… #ポケモンセンター
This is deep F-14 lore
Four armed hijackers executed a 69-year-old disabled American in a wheelchair and threw him overboard into the Mediterranean—only for US Navy fighter jets to ambush their getaway airliner in pitch-black airspace, forcing it down onto a NATO runway for an armed standoff between American commandos and Italian carabinieri.
The reason might surprise you.
On October 7, 1985, the Italian luxury cruise liner MS Achille Lauro was cruising off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, carrying hundreds of international holidaymakers.
While the majority of passengers had disembarked for a shore excursion to Cairo, four heavily armed militants from the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), led by 23-year-old Youssef Majed al-Molqi, seized the vessel.
Their original plan had been to stay undercover until the ship docked in Ashdod, Israel, to launch a suicide raid on military installations. But when a cabin steward caught them cleaning assault rifles in their state room, they panicked, commandeered the bridge, and held over 400 remaining passengers and crew hostage.
They redirected the cruise liner toward Tartus, Syria, demanding the immediate release of 50 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
When the Syrian government refused to allow the ship to enter port, the hijackers decided to execute a hostage to prove their resolve:
They singled out Leon Klinghoffer, a 69-year-old Jewish-American retired appliance manufacturer from New York who had suffered two severe strokes and was confined to a wheelchair.
Forced onto the open deck, Klinghoffer was shot once in the forehead and once in the chest.
The hijackers then forced two ship crew members at gunpoint to dump Klinghoffer's body and his wheelchair into the open sea.
Fearing international retaliation, PLF leader Muhammad Zaidan (known as Abu Abbas) established radio contact with the ship, ordering the hijackers to steer back toward Port Said, Egypt.
In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak arranged a controversial diplomatic compromise:
In exchange for releasing the cruise ship and the remaining hostages unharmed, the hijackers were granted safe passage out of Egypt aboard a commercial EgyptAir Boeing 737 bound for Tunis, alongside Abu Abbas.
President Mubarak publicly claimed the hijackers had already left the country, but US intelligence knew the plane had not yet taken off from Al Maza military airbase.
When President Ronald Reagan learned of Klinghoffer's murder, he issued an immediate directive: intercept the airliner.
On the night of October 10, four F-14 Tomcat fighter jets from the USS Saratoga (Carrier Air Wing 17), supported by an E-2C Hawkeye radar plane, roared off the catapults into the dark Mediterranean sky:
Without using radio transmissions or radar illumination, the F-14s crept up on the EgyptAir flight in complete blackout mode at 34,000 feet south of Crete.
Switching on running lights and drawing within inches of the airliner’s wingtips, the American fighter pilots rocked their wings and radioed the Egyptian pilot directly on emergency frequencies: "Divert your heading to Sigonella, or face interception."
Flanked on both wings by armed Tomcats, the airliner had no choice but to follow the escorts down to Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily.
The crisis, however, didn't end on the tarmac. It triggered a near-shooting standoff between two NATO allies:
As soon as the airliner touched down at midnight, US Navy SEAL Team Six operators surrounded the plane in tactical gear.
Within minutes, fifty Italian Carabinieri and military police surrounded the Navy SEALs with submachine guns, drawing down on the Americans.
Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi insisted that because the aircraft had landed on sovereign Italian soil and the hijacking occurred on an Italian-flagged ship, Italy retained absolute legal jurisdiction.
(Read more below...)
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
Another something you REALLY don't see every day...the X-59 research aircraft on the runway at KNFW. My image.
Jet-A Scented Airborne Welder retweeted
I checked FlightAware this morning and spotted the flight plan had been filed for the NASA aircraft, so naturally, we raced over to the base to catch their takeoffs!
Listen to those engines on the NASA X-59 QueSST as it takes off! 😍😍😍
She is on her way to Birmingham now.
@NASAAdmin @johnkrausphotos @TheAviationist @thenewarea51
